


I'll see you again...

by sugdenmillerxo



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Boyfriends, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-04 01:05:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6634786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugdenmillerxo/pseuds/sugdenmillerxo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Robert Sugden approaching his final days, he is let home. Surrounded by his family & the small amount of people who care about him, he gets ready to say goodbye. However, Aaron is nowhere to be seen so with Aaron missing & Robert deteriorating very quickly, Will he get the chance to say Goodbye?</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll see you again...

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at a Robert & Aaron fic/story, It is sad. I wanted to start with something emotional, push myself a little. I hope you enjoy it.

"You ready to come home?" Vic asked, her cheeks red & clearly sore. She'd been crying. Everyone had, It's not everyday you get news that you should prepare to say goodbye to your brother. Fair enough, Robert Sugden wasn't everyones version of an angel, but to Vic, Robert was amazing. He was the kind of brother every little girl would have wanted, the kind of brother that would get the cake mix from the top shelf of the kitchen cupboard, the kind of brother that would walk you to the shop late at night just so you could get a chocolate bar, the kind of brother that would punch any guy that left you crying, Robert was the kind of brother that you could never live without, a life without someone like him in it would be a boring one, one with no fun, no laughter, no love, no happiness. A life that Vic was going to have to prepare for, because no matter how hard Vic had prayed nor how hard she wished for it not to be true, Robert was dying.

"Yeah, I guess. I can't believe it, my whole time spent in this crappy hospital is over & for what? To come home and die? To have to leave everyone, to have to say goodbye and put everyone through more pain than I ever went through fighting this shitty illness." Robert said, working himself up. The nurse had told him not to do that, it makes him worse. He grabbed the oxygen mask and began taking deep breaths.

Vic, wiping a tear from her cheek, walked over to the bed and sat beside Robert. She just looked at him, watched his breathing, she found some sort of peace in watching his stomach rise and fall, slowly, but it was and that's all she cared about. "Robert." She said, quietly. As if the words that were about to follow were about to break her. "Promise me something?" She said, looking at his eyes. He looked back.

"Anything." He replied, clearly out of breath.

"When the time comes, and you do.....you know. Promise me, you won't say goodbye. It's so final, It's horrible. I don't want that to be the last thing you say to me. I want our last conversation to be something I can think about and smile, not something that makes me cry every time I think about you."

"Vic, No matter where I am. It'll never be goodbye. We're brother and sister, we're unbreakable. I'll always be a part of you and you'll always be a part of me. I won't say goodbye to you because I will never leave you." Robert replies. "I may not be there physically, to hug you when you're sad, or tease you about your cooking attempts but if you ever need me, you know you just have to think about me, I'll never be too far away."

Vic didn't say anything, she just smiled at Robert and placed her head lightly on Roberts shoulder, taking hold of his hand. They don't move, or say anything else. They both just sat, holding each other, treasuring the moment.

Shortly after that, The nurse arrived letting Robert know that he was allowed to go. It was an emotional goodbye, as you could imagine. Imagine saying goodbye to a nurse who had done everything to save you, only for Cancer to be a wanker and destroy any hope of that happening. Robert spent the journey back from the hospital with his eyes shut & the window of the car open. The breeze blew in his face, the brightness of the sun made it near impossible for him to look at the sky or see it in its true beauty, but he could feel it. The warm glow on his face made him smile. The car came to a stop and Robert opened his eyes, everything was a blur for a few seconds. It took him a while to regain his sight but when he did, standing in front of him were the people who loved him most, waiting for him to get out the car so they could welcome him home, one last time.

"Where's Aaron?" Robert asked, after examining the line twice.

"We don't know. We couldn't find him, I'm sure he'll be back later though." Vic replied, unbuckling hers and Roberts seatbelts.

Adam was already in the back of the car getting Roberts bags out, and helping him out of the car. "You alright, mate?" Adam asked.

"It's amazing what death can do for some people, I never thought I'd hear you call me mate." Robert said, watching Adams face drop. "Hey, I'm joking. We're good." Robert and Adam gave each other a nod, It was like their goodbye to one another, Forget any history that they'd ever had & just let it go, Life it too short, evidently.

After being greeted by everyone, and hugged by Diane for what felt like forever, Robert was home, in his bed. He looked around, observing his room. 

"This really was an ugly bedroom, wasn't it?" He said, laughing.

"Yeah, we did try and tell you." Diane replied, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"I should have listened, I'm sorry." Robert said, Rubbing his chest. Robert was getting pains more and more frequently and everyone was becoming more and more worried.

Chas left the room to make everyone some tea, as she left, Robert asked after Aaron. No one knew where Aaron was but him running away wasn't him being selfish or him being pathetic, he'd gone through the pain of having to say goodbye to someone before, how could he do it again? It would be different this time too. Him and Robert were meant to be forever, right? They were end game. Despite the endless times they've argued or punched each other in the face, they never stopped loving each other and I don't think they ever could.

Chas dialled Aarons number, it rang, and rang, and rang....voicemail. "Hey babe. I can't begin to imagine what you're having to cope with right now, but doing it alone isn't the answer. Robert keeps asking after you, he wants to see you & I know you want to see him. Come home darling, come back and say goodbye. I love you." She hangs up and goes to make the tea.

Chas has never been Roberts number one fan, she still wasn't, but any man that made her son happy and gave him purpose was one that she would be willing to get along with, no matter what her opinions were on him. Roberts illness made Chas sadder than she ever thought she would be, it began to show her that deep down, she did have a soft spot for Robert, she cared about him and couldn't actually imagine a life without him. Who could she bicker with about her son? Who could she tease her son with? Who could she show those embarrassing photos of her baby boy to now?

Whilst making the tea, Chas had a little cry to herself. She wouldn't show it in front of anyone else. She was really going to miss Robert.

Walking back up the stairs, she heard sobbing coming from Roberts room. She walked in and saw Diane crying into his arms, She looked at Adam who just nodded, it was happening. He was saying goodbyes to everyone.

"Vic, your turn." He said, tapping the sheet beside him, she sat down and took hold of his hand. "When you were born, I was mad. A girl. Ugh. Who wanted a girl? Who wants a little sister? Not me. I was so wrong about you, you grew up to be one of my best friends, I am so lucky to have you as a friend as well as a sister. You are a beautiful, strong, independent female, your taste in boys, except one..." Robert said, looking at Chas, which caused chuckles between everyone.."isn't the best, but if you're happy. So am I. So little sister, I want you to take these words from me. Never give up on anything, live everyday like you're never going to get another one, put everything into everything you do, never regret anything, even if you get stick for it, never, ever regret doing it because in the moment you did it, you felt like it was the right thing to do and that makes it okay. Never feel like you're alone, I will always be with you, watching over you, making sure you're okay. I love you so much, you hear me? More than you could ever imagine? I'm so sorry for leaving when I did. I'm sorry for how much time we missed out on and how many special moments that I'm going to miss out on, I wish more than anything that I could stick around and see them but it doesn't look like a possibility. I will be proud of you forever." Robert finished. Everyone at this point was sobbing, you could hear sniffles from every corner. 

"I love you so much Robert, Please don't go." Vic said, collapsing into Roberts arms. Robert flinched, the impact was stronger than he was expecting but he soon got used to it and just held his sister, kissing her forehead and making sure she knew how loved she was and that everything would be okay, even with him not around. Vic ended up falling asleep in Roberts arms, Robert began to get very weak.

"Adam." Robert whispered. "Take her, please."

Adam walked over and took hold of Vic. "Make sure she is always happy. Make sure she is never alone. Make sure she is always loved, Make sure she always has the right people around her, Make sure that she never feels like she can't achieve anything. You have one of the most incredible females right here, never let her go. Never let anything happen to her. Please." Robert said, letting go of Vics hand and handing her to Adam.

"Of course, Robert. I love her. You can trust me." Adam went to leave the room, but Robert stopped him.

"One more thing. I want you to make sure you're there for someone else too, to do all the same things that you'll do for Vic, do it for them too. Make sure they believe in themselves, make sure they feel strong enough to achieve anything."

"Who?"

"Aaron." Robert said, a tear rolled down his cheek and he looked at his lap. "I don't know if I'll get to say Goodbye to him. So if I don't, just make sure he knows how much I love him." Adam smiled at Rob and nodded, tears forming in Adams eyes, he spoke up one last time. 

"You know, I underestimated you, Robert. You really are a top bloke. Nothing will be the same without you." Adam closed the door behind him, Robert was now alone. He began to cry, no tears though. He wasn't strong enough now to form tears, he just sobbed. His chest hurting more than it had before. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. 

3 hours later, Robert awoke to a voice, a gentle voice, one so angelic that he felt like he was in heaven.

"Robert? Robert, wake up. Please." Robert, to weak to move his head, opened his eyes slowly. Blinking a few times to clear his sight, he saw a shadow of a handsome man, one that was so familiar he didn't need to ask who it was. 

"Am I dead? Is this heaven?..." Aaron grabbed his hand and laughed. "No, you're still here, and so am I, finally."

"You never were one to make things easy, were you?" Robert said, using every little bit of strength to turn his head so he was looking at Aaron. 

"No, I wasn't. I'm so sorry for that." Aaron said, taking hold of Roberts hand, beginning to cry.

"Don't ever apologise, you never have to say sorry for anything." Robert said, in a light tone, Robert didn't have long left, gaps between his words became longer, breathing became slower and words became harder to come out. 

"Aaron..." Robert whispered, He looked Aaron in the eyes and Aaron looked back, he tugged on Aarons arm to pull himself up but ended up falling into the arms of Aaron, who held him, Robert was now resting his head on Aarons chest. "I just wanna say, no matter what anyone says, don't ever believe I didn't do enough in my life to live a good one, I had the best life, I lived a happy life, because I had you. You were my missing piece, you were what I needed for it to all fit into place, you were like the water and I was a seed, with you i just grew into a better person everyday and even though this tree is about to die, I hope you never stop helping other people grow. You are an amazing human, Aaron. Everything about you, makes you amazing. In the time I got to know you, you showed me what it's like to fall in love and be loved back, what it's like to never give up, no matter how much it hurts, you taught me how to accept myself and you never judged me or left me, even though I took forever, you showed me how strong you are, you can do anything you put your mind to Aaron."

Aaron interrupted.."I did all that because I had you, How am I going to be able to do anything without you?."

"HEY. Enough of that, You, Aaron Dingle, You are the strongest person I know, The easiest person to fall in love with. You are superhuman. You have so much strength, never doubt yourself, and you'll never be without me. I'll be with you every step of the way."

"But you're going to leave me. PEOPLE ALWAYS LEAVE ME." Aaron got angry and threw himself up. Robert slumped down on the bed, & took a big gasp. "Oh my god. Robert! Robert are you okay?" Aaron gets on his knees and waits for Robert to move.

Robert can't lift his head, he begins to cry. "Robert?"

"I'm scared, Aaron." 

"Scared of what?" 

"Closing my eyes. If I close my eyes, I'm scared of what happens after that, What if I never see your face again? When I close my eyes, they'll never open again, what happens to you? I'm scared you'll forget me or you'll hate me for leaving you alone, like you just said, but I don't want to leave you. I'm scared of forgetting all of what we had, because it's what made me fight. This love, our love gave me so much to fight for." Robert said, finally placing his head so his ear was on the mattress, looking at Aaron. Aaron looked to the ceiling and two tears, at the exact same time rolled down his cheeks.

"I will never forget you. You are unforgettable." Aaron said, moving his face close to Roberts. He placed a gentle kiss on Roberts cheek and smiled. "I'm going to miss kissing you. Your skin is so soft, so warm."

"Robert." He opened his eyes, just enough for Aaron to see them. "Can I tell you something?" At this point, Aaron knew the only thing that was keeping Robert here, was him. Robert was going, as much as Aaron didn't want to see him go, he had to let him go. He was getting too weak to fight any more, it was just hurting him now, Aaron crawled in the bed beside him and wrapped Roberts arms around his waist and held Robert close. He could feel Robert breathing, and so Aaron began...

"I never thought I was the loving kind, I never thought anyone would come into my life and be worth loving, I never thought I'd allow someone to get so close to me that I couldn't imagine a life without them, and then it happened. This guy, a tall blonde, with an attitude so strong he's lucky he didn't get a punch in the nose walked into my life." He felt Robert jump, like he laughed. "& that's when everything changed. Life started to make sense, every day had a purpose. Everything I did didn't seem useless, I didn't feel alone, I had him. He was mine, and he was amazing. He was everything I needed at that exact moment, He made me strong. He made me strong enough to face my worst enemies and to never give up, if I was hurting, he knew. Of course, he brought trouble, and of course we had our arguments but he never left. No matter how many reasons I gave him to do so, he stuck by me....." Aaron paused, took a big breath out of his mouth and kissed the top of Roberts head, he continued. "Up until now. Now, this amazing man of mine, he has to go. He has to go to another place and he has to leave me. I know he doesn't want to, but I want him to know that I'll do what he asked, I'll keep my head up, I'll be strong and I'll be okay without him. I'll miss him more than he'll ever know and I will cry more than he wants me to, But I will be okay and I'll keep going, because everywhere I go, I'll carry a little bit of him with me. You'll always be with me Robert, I love you, so much. Go fly." 

And with that, Robert took one last breath. 

"I'll see you again, Robert. Say Hi to Jack for me. Wait for me up there.....I....love you........so fucking much." 


End file.
